Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner would be a mad man, indeed, if major plot points from the upcoming season of AMC’s Emmy-winning drama surfaced on the web. He likes to stay mum about the details of future episodes – the show’s “Next Time on Mad Men” clips are vague to the point of parody. However, that has not stopped fervent fans from trying to decipher the symbolism behind new material, such as these recently released photos (which you can see below).
In them, adman Don Draper (Jon Hamm) looks pensive and intense as he sits next to business partner Roger Sterling (John Slattery) on an airplane, as well as creative copywriter Peggy Olson (Elizabeth Moss) in the terminal. Another picture has television’s favourite enigmatic, womanizing marketing genius staring off into the distance, with his much younger wife Megan (Jessica Paré) in tow.
So what do these new images say? Mad Men has always been full of airplanes, from the agency’s accounts to Don’s rotuine jet-setting to the West Coast. One of the conspiracy theories surrounding Don Draper even insists that he will turn out to be airline hijacker D.B. Cooper. According to Weiner though, the setting of these photos at an airport have no significance at all and do not foreshadow anything on Mad Men.
“Definitely there are things that we do that are infused with meaning,” Weiner told The Wrap. “This gallery shoot is not necessarily infused with meaning. One of the great things we get to do… is kind of show off the glamour of the characters in a way we don’t always in the show. We picked the airport this year because it harkens back to something that has truly disappeared, which is – not the adventure of travel, hopefully that will never go away.”
Weiner also revealed to the Los Angeles Times recently that the idea to split Mad Men‘s seventh and final season into two halves of seven episodes – one airing this spring and the second in 2015 – was the network’s choice, not his. There will be no production hiatus, though. “The interesting thing is the show is always kind of structured in halves, whether the audience notices or not,” Weiner told the Times. For instance, halfway through season six, Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce merged with a rival agency.
Anyway, if Don Draper’s perfectly tailored suit didn’t entice you enough, make sure to tune in to the first half of Mad Men‘s final season when it airs on April 13.
